


Growing Pains

by infiniteinmyownlittleworld



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/M, War, slowburn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-31
Updated: 2020-05-31
Packaged: 2021-03-03 01:41:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,252
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24476653
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/infiniteinmyownlittleworld/pseuds/infiniteinmyownlittleworld
Summary: This is the story of James Potter’s sixth year at Hogwarts. Despite trying to play it cool, he’s always got a lot going on. The First Wizarding War is just getting worse. His best friend has just been blasted off his family tree. They run around with a werewolf every full moon. Oh, and there’s always the unreachable Lily Evans. It’s going to be an interesting year.Companion Fic to Solstilla's "Belonging"
Relationships: James Potter/Lily Evans Potter, james potter / oc
Comments: 2
Kudos: 5





	1. Prologue: Before the Year Began

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Belonging](https://archiveofourown.org/works/23875336) by [Solstilla](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Solstilla/pseuds/Solstilla). 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a companion fic to Solstilla's "Belonging". Hope you enjoy :)

Although it had been almost a month ago, James remembered the night like it was yesterday.

It was around three in the morning when James was awoken by a loud pounding at the front door of Potter Manor. Slowly sitting up in bed, he wondered if it had just been his imagination. Perhaps just the wind - it was a rather stormy night - or something in his dream. He wouldn’t admit it, but he did always get a little jumpy when his parents left him all alone in such a big house. 

But no, there it was again. 

Three raps in rapid succession. 

Knock. Knock. Knock. 

James got up, grabbing his glasses and wand off his nightstand. “Lumos,” he murmured, using the wand’s light as his guide as he went to the door. 

Knock. Knock. Knock. 

And again. 

Bam. Bam. Bam. 

He slowed as he got to the front door, looking out the nearby window to see... “Sirius?”

Once he saw his best friend at the door, he quickly unlocked it and flung it open. 

Sirius just took a shaky breath. “Hey, mate.”

James swallowed thickly, taking in the state of him. He was sopping wet from the rain, his fingers clasped tightly around the handle of his trunk. James wasn’t sure what was going on, but he could tell it was bad by Sirius’ expression. He looked pale, his eyes wide. His lips were set in a straight line, as if he was pressing them together so he wouldn’t break down. “Come in,” he said immediately, realizing that Sirius was still standing out in the rain. 

Once inside, James murmured the spell to turn on the hall lights before glancing back at his friend. “What’s happened?” he asked, watching as Sirius dried himself off. 

It took him a moment to answer. Honestly, James hadn’t been sure that he would answer the question. 

“It finally happened,” he heard Sirius say quietly, and James’ heart felt like it was stuck in his throat. That was all Sirius had to say, really. Of course, they had talked about the Black family before. James knew what they expected of their eldest son once he graduated from Hogwarts. What he hadn’t expected was that it would happen the summer before sixth year. He knew the Blacks were evil, but he hadn’t thought they would expect their sixteen-year-old son to join Voldemort’s Death Eaters. 

Throat dry, James said, “They wanted to induct you?” And Sirius just nodded weakly in return. 

“So I’ve come here,” Sirius replied hopefully. “I can’t stay there, but I didn’t have anywhere else to go. Pete’s mum is so strict, and Moony’s been dea-” 

“Of course you should’ve come here,” James said, cutting off his words of doubt. “You’re always welcome here. You know that.” At that, he was rewarded with the first flicker of a smile James had seen out of Sirius since he arrived. James waited a moment for Sirius to reply, but realizing his best friend was still in shock, he grabbed the other end of his trunk. “C’mon, let’s get you upstairs.”

Once the boys hauled the trunk upstairs and into the room Sirius usually stayed in when he was at the Potter’s, James took a breath. Sirius was much quieter than normal. “Hey, everything’s going to be fine, mate. I’m just glad you got out of there.”

Finally, Sirius gave him a real smile in return, one filled with relief. “Me too, Prongs.”

Nodding, James walked to the doorway. “G’night, Padfoot.” After hearing his friend say, “G’night”, James went off to bed, only to be awoken by a similar banging noise at the front door again. 

Bam. Bam. Bam. 

Jumping up, James raced into the hallway, only to see Sirius coming as well. “This can’t be good,” he heard Sirius say under his breath. 

As they arrived at the base of the stairs, they heard the knocks again followed by a screech, “Sirius!”

James glanced back, watching his best friend grimace. “There’s Mum.” James just nodded in return. 

“What do we do?”

“Well, we either answer the door, or she’ll blast it down,” Sirius replied, frowning.  
James grimaced. Merlin, he wished his parents were home. “Lovely,” he mumbled as he reached the door. As soon as he unlocked it, however, it was pushed open. Standing on the other side was not only Walburga Black but also her husband, Orion, and Regulus. 

Her smokey grey eyes were blazing as she looked at her eldest son. “Sirius Orion Black,” she hissed. “How dare you defile the Black name! Do you know who we are? What we stand for?”

Sirius straightened up, taking a deep breath. “Yes, I do, Mother. You stand up for Voldemort. You approve of killing muggles and muggleborns, and I just can’t be part of that. I won’t. I refuse.” At that, his mother gasped, glancing to Orion and Regulus. 

Seeing Walburga’s expression, Orion stepped forward, frowning deeply at his son. “Then you’re no son of ours,” he said tersely. James expected Sirius to look disheartened by that, but instead, he saw that his friend looked resolved. 

“Fine then,” Sirius replied, shrugging. 

Walburga scowled at that, grasping at Regulus’ shoulder. “If that’s how he feels, then come, Regulus. You can help your mother blast him off the family tree. He is not family anymore, and he will never be again.”

James watched as the three other Blacks turned and left. As soon as they were gone, the floo roared, turning a bright green color as James’ own parents stepped out of it. His words were almost stuck in his throat as he said, “Mum, Dad, you’re home.”

Euphemia smiled warmly, walking over to kiss James’ head. “Hello, darling.” She glanced at Sirius. “Good to see you, Sirius.”

Sirius just smiled weakly in return. “You too, Mrs. Potter.”

James bit his lip at that. “Mum, maybe we should all sit down and talk…”

That had been almost a month ago. After Euphemia and Fleamont heard the news, they welcomed Sirius into their family with open arms, even calling him their second son. Now, though, it was finally to go back for their sixth year at Hogwarts, and James wasn’t exactly sure what to expect out of the year.


	2. I Think We're Going Back

James took a breath as he, his parents, and Sirius arrived at Platform 9 ¾, clutching Ora’s cage to ensure that she wouldn’t get knocked around by anyone running by. Finally, it was time to go back to school. Honestly, he was relieved. Although he loved being home and spending time with his parents, he did miss school. He missed sneaking out and staying up late in the dorms. He missed transforming in the Shrieking Shack with the boys every full moon. While he was glad that he had Sirius for the last month of his summer, he missed the other marauders too. He hadn’t seen Peter since school ended because his mum was so strict. Remus had come by a handful of times during the summer, but James knew that his transformations were very difficult on him when he was isolated in the basement of his parents’ house.

He knew that they’d all be happier back at school. Euphemia and Fleamont had welcomed Sirius, bringing him into the family as one of their own, but James knew his best friend. He knew that Sirius was still hurting, even if he tried to brush it off and act like he wasn’t. He wasn’t sure how he’d take seeing Regulus again, but at least he’d have the other marauders there for him. 

As they stood on the platform, James smiled faintly, crinkling his nose as his mother started doting on him. “Mum, we’ll be back at Christmas,” he promised as she straightened his Gryffindor tie. “Honestly, it’ll come before you know it. You won’t even have time to miss us.”

At that, Euphemia Potter just scoffed, smiling warmly to her son. “Of course I’ll miss you, darling. I’ll always miss you.” After, she straightened, a playfully stern look coming across her face. “But listen to me, both of you. I do not want to get more owls from Minerva or Horace telling me that you’ve blown up another toilet or something of the sort.”

Sirius snorted. “That was in second year, Mum. We’re much past toilet humor now.”

Fleamont smiled widely at that. He was so glad Sirius was so comfortable around them, and much to his wife’s annoyance, the whole family knew he enjoyed the troublemaking. After a quick jab in the side from Euphemia, however, Fleamont cleared his throat. “Be good this year, boys,” he agreed, but there was still a slight smirk to his smile. 

James just grinned. “Always, Dad,” he agreed. “We’d better go get on the train, but we’ll see you soon.” After one last kiss from his mother and a hug from his father, James and Sirius both turned to get to the train. 

Getting close to the Express was a task unto itself with all the students around. Students and parents were rushing past, trying to get belongings stuffed into the train. Every other step, James had to shuffle to pass a family saying their goodbyes. He tried to put his head down and just get to the train, but it was difficult when he heard a familiar voice. One he had thought about often during the summer. 

“I’m not a police officer, Dad!” He heard her say, her deafening laugh following. “That’s an auror. I’m more like a...a hall monitor.” James glanced over, seeing the unmistakable red hair of one Lily Evans. Her back was turned to him, but he could see that she was talking with a short, red-headed man and a blonde woman that looked a lot like Lily in the face. 

He really didn’t know her that well. They had talked in passing, mostly about Remus since he was also friends with Lily. He wasn’t sure whether Lily knew about Remus’ furry little problem, but he knew that she worried about him when he was ill afterwards. Other than that, run-ins with Snape, and the...incident at the end of last year, he had to admit that he really didn’t know that much about her. They weren’t friends, but he still thought about her often. He felt...almost bad about what had happened, if only for her sake. While he thought that Snape would be a shit friend to have, he knew that Snape had been Lily’s first and best friend. He couldn’t imagine losing Sirius like that, so he felt back that she had lost her best friend like that. Perhaps he’d try to speak with her later. 

It was his own best friend’s voice that brought him back to reality. 

“Mate, you okay?” 

James blinked, seeing Sirius smirking at him. Shaking his head slowly, James looked back towards the train, beginning to pull his luggage along again. “Fine,” he murmured. “Sorry.”

Sirius just grinned, but it was a wide grin that just told James that Sirius knew exactly what, or rather who, he had been staring at. “Mhm,” he murmured, raising an eyebrow before he quieted. “Why is it always Evans?” he asked curiously. “What is it about her?”

In return, James just sighed and gave a weak shrug. He wasn’t exactly sure what it was about Lily Evans. There was just something that drew him to her. Actually, it made him pretty stupid around her. Something made him just want to impress her all the time, and looking back on last year, it made him really dumb around her. Besides, last year was a touchy subject to her, he was sure of that. He felt like he was responsible in a way. 

“I dunno. I’ve just been thinking a lot after what happened last year. I feel like I need to…” Say something? No, that wasn’t right. It needed to be more than that. “Apologize, actually.”

“Right,” Sirius said after a moment, seemingly surprised by his friend’s words. “Well, maybe you can catch up with her later. We should get on the train and find Pete and Moony.”

James nodded, leading him into the train. The two walked down the cramped aisles, trying to slide past other students as everyone made it onboard. Finally, they came to their regular compartment, finding the other marauders already inside. 

Remus was, in all respects, James’ kindest friend. He went through so much every month, and yet, he cared so deeply for others. While others had their doubts about the mousy-haired boy with scars maring the whole of his face, James knew he had a big heart. People simply didn’t know him, and there were some things that were worth keeping as secrets. The Marauders would always keep Remus’ biggest secret for him. 

Peter, on the other hand, was a short boy with blond hair and pale blue eyes that usually looked like he was on the verge of tears. To the majority in school, he was an unlikely friend for the rest of the marauders. Although usually quiet, Peter had strokes of genius at times. He was brilliant at pranks when he wanted to be, simply because no one expected it to come from him. Sometimes, he said things that made the other boys double over and clutch their stomachs from their laughter. Though an unlikely friend, Peter was a good one. 

James grinned, opening the door to the compartment. “All right, you two?” Remus and Peter both looked up as his voice. Remus just gave him a warm smile as he and Sirius both came into the compartment to sit. Peter, on the other hand, looked rather excited to see his best friends, squirming slightly in his seat. “How’ve you two been? Have a nice holiday?” James asked. 

Remus nodded at that. “Not bad,” he agreed. “I’m afraid I’ve got to run, but I’ll be back soon.” 

James merely nodded, expecting Remus to be leaving for his Prefect meeting soon. None of the other boys ever doubted that Remus would land the job in their fifth year, and it came to no surprise when he arrived on the train with the badge pinned to his robes. Now, they just knew it as part of Remus’ routine and responsibilities. 

“See you, Moony,” Sirius said, giving him a nonchalant wave as he left the compartment. 

As the train lurched and started to leave the station, James just smiled to his friends before looking out the window. “Just like old times, yeah?” Perhaps they’d talk about the summer or what they thought this year might bring. They’d share some sweets when the candy trolley came by. As always, he was planning to buy his favorites, sugar quills.  
Finally, they’d get to Hogwarts, his true home away from home. He couldn’t wait to get back to staying in the dorms with his mates, playing Quidditch on the pitch, and learning new things in his N.E.W.T. level classes. 

“Maybe a bit more like old times than you want it to be,” James heard Peter reply nervously. Frowning, James turned around to look at whatever Peter was talking about. A familiar, albeit unwanted, figure was looming in doorways between the compartments. While James knew that Snape was a prefect, there was no reason for him to be waiting around unless...he was waiting for someone to come by. Really, there was only one explanation. Severus Snape was harassing Lily again, and he’d have to do something to stop it.


	3. Fighting in the Corridor

Without even glance at his friends, James jumped up. He had to confront Snape about this before Lily came by. Honestly, he knew it wasn’t his business, but Lily didn’t need to be bothered by her ex-best friend again. Hadn’t she suffered enough in the hands of Snape? Sure, he wasn’t exactly innocent in all of this, but now, he felt like he had to do something.

“Prongs?” Peter asked, obviously confused as James rose to his feet and left the compartment without saying a word. 

Shutting the door behind himself, James glared at Severus. The latter’s eyes darkened, and he quickly pulled his wand from his robes. “Trying to bother Evans again, are you?” James asked, raising an eyebrow as he brandished his own wand. “You’re better off just leaving her alone.”

Severus simply sneered, holding his wand closer. “I can’t stand in the corridor? Besides,   
I don’t think you know what is best for Lily, Potter, since this doesn’t concern you in the slightest.” At that, Snape tried to shove past him, pushing towards Lily’s compartment instead of the Prefect’s. 

“It involves Evans and what you’ve done to her already,” James replied curtly, blocking his way. He needed to find a way to get Snape into the Prefect’s compartment before Lily came out of her own. 

Straightening when he realized he couldn’t get through using physical force, Snape scoffed, “Look at you, Potter. Always trying to be the hero, aren’t you? Don’t try to come to Lily’s defense when you did this.” 

“I didn’t call her a...a you-know-what,” James replied coldly. “You can’t blame me for what happened that day. I might’ve done things I shouldn’t have, but losing Evans is all on you, Snape.” James grimaced when, instead of saying anything, Snape simply shoved him again, trying to get closer to Lily. This time, however, James stumbled slightly, only catching himself when Snape had his hand on Lily’s compartment door. 

Recovering, James shoved Snape back again. He didn’t even notice when the compartment door behind him opened. “DON’T! Don’t even look at her!” he bellowed. Anger swelled within him as he pushed Snape back a second time. He didn’t want Snape anywhere near Lily, not after what he had done to her. Not only had Snape called her a mudblood in front of, essentially, the whole school, but he had also alienated her from the rest of her friends, according to Marlene’s letters over the summer. He didn’t deserve anything to do with Lily anymore. 

“Get off me, Potter,” Snape hissed, shoving again. “I have a right to-”

“No!” James roared back as he blocked Snape, the anger turning again inside him. “That’s the thing. You have no right to her. She’s not some...some prize to be won! She’s a person, and you hurt her!” His anger flared when he thought about his words. It was true; Snape was speaking as if he had a claim to her. Snape thought Lily owed him something just because they were once friends. Like Sirius’ own family had tried to push him to be a death eater just because he was a Black. As he calmed slightly, James took a deep breath, thinking of how broken Sirius had been after his family hurt him. How small he looked on the Potter’s doorstep at three in the morning. Snape had hurt Lily too, and now, he just wanted to make it seem he could still claim Lily’s friendship. 

He never wanted anyone to feel like that, and he especially didn’t want Snape to make Lily feel that way again. “You were supposed to be there for her. You were supposed to be her friend, and you hurt her.”He was starting to lose track if he was talking about Lily or Sirius at this point. He took a shaky breath as he attempted to stifle the anger threatening to boil over again. “You were supposed to protect her, and instead, you tore her down! And you, more than anyone, had that power. So, no. You don’t have any right to her. You don’t have a right to see her, to talk to her. Don’t even look at her because you lost that right.”

For a moment, everything went still, quiet. James couldn’t help his mind from wandering back to Sirius in that moment. Things were, for the most part, really similar, and he couldn’t help but stand up for Lily in the way he wished he could have for Sirius. He had felt so helpless in what happened to his best friend, but if he could help it, he would stop what was happening to her. 

It wasn’t until Lily spoke that he knew she was there at all.

“Potter, sit back down.” 

Ripping him away from his thoughts, he glanced back to find Lily and Hestia behind him. Honestly, he wasn’t sure how he hadn’t known they were there. He wasn’t even sure when they had gotten there or how much they had heard. Although he wanted to help - needed to help - he also had to respect her wishes. He didn’t even know Lily that well; she wasn’t Sirius. Resigning himself to that fact, he began to turn back to his compartment. 

That was, until Snape sent a stinging hex at him. 

And he definitely wasn’t going to take it sitting down. If Snape wanted to start something, well, he was more than happy to retaliate. 

But...Lily was there, and he definitely didn’t want her or Hestia getting hurt by a stray spell. He’d just have to do the nobler thing and stop the duel before it really started. So, instead of hexing Snape like he really wished he could, James cried, “Stupefy!” He just needed to stun him, and end it. 

Of course, Snape ducked, and James’ stunning spell hit the wall behind him instead. “Engorgio Skullus,” Snape snarled, sending the hex right at James before he could move. 

James winced as his head bubbled up and swelled to twice its normal size. It was quite disorienting, really. His ears swelled shut, making him feel like he was underwater, and lucky for him, his glasses slid from the bridge of his nose, rendering him sightless. Lovely. He gripped his wand tighter, starting to mumble the countercurse when his head shrunk back to its normal size. He shoved his glasses back into their rightful place to see Sirius standing next to him. Nodding his thanks, he went in to disarm Snape. 

“Baubillios!” Severus shouted. Oh, things were getting out of hand now. Snape was playing with dark magic. 

“Prote-” James began to say, but a flash of red flew in front of him as someone else beat him to it. 

Lily. 

“Protego!” she shouted, jumping in front of both him and Sirius. “Enough!” she cried, spinning around. James and Sirius both stepped back at seeing her expression. Her chest was rising and falling rapidly as she tried to regain her breath, and she looked livid. Her usually kind emerald eyes were in slits as she stepped closer to them. 

“Potter, Black, don’t you dare act like you’re fighting on my behalf. I can more than hold my own against him.” James opened his mouth to respond, but before he could, Lily had spun around to stare down Snape. “Snape, Death Eater training takes place off school property,” she said coolly before turning on her heel to enter the prefect’s compartment. 

Before James could say a word, he heard the door of the compartment slam. The three of them stood there, motionless for a moment, before James heard footsteps coming from behind him and Sirius. There stood Hestia, scowling at all of them. 

“James, Sirius, what in Merlin’s name was that? Don’t go trying to save her. She doesn’t need it or want it.” James watched as Sirius frowned at that, pursing his lips. He knew they were thinking the same thing. It hadn’t been as much about Lily as about Snape being a creep. He had been waiting to ambush her! 

“And you!” He heard Hestia snap, glaring at Snape. “Don’t ever get near her again. Don’t look at her. Don’t even think of her. You are nothing to her, Snape. You made your thoughts perfectly clear last year.”

Huffing, Hestia turned to go back to her own compartment as Snape slid into the prefect’s compartment for the meeting. When the door shut and he was gone, Hestia looked back at James and Sirius, smiling faintly. “I meant what I said, but I know he’s an arse. See you guys.”

James, swallowing back his pride, merely nodded to Hestia. He didn’t regret what he had started, but he wished it wouldn’t have gotten so out of hand. “C’mon,” he muttered, glancing towards his best friend before walking back into their own compartment. 

Peter’s face was practically glued to the glass, only jumping back when they came in. “That was wicked! Snivellus deserved that and more. Did you see-” 

“Yeah, we saw it all, Pete,” Sirius mumbled, slumping back into his seat. “Let’s stop talking about it, all right?” James saw right through that. He knew that dueling affected Sirius more than anyone because of what had happened with his family. Seeing people throw dark curses reminded Sirius of his mum and dad, of the home he had left such a short time ago. 

Peter nodded slowly. “Right,” he agreed, taking a deep breath as he sat by Sirius again. “Let’s play some exploding snaps while we wait for Moony?”

James smiled faintly at that. “All right,” he agreed, wanting to appease his friend. Sitting up in his seat slightly, he looked between the two boys. “You’re on. C’mon, Sirius, you too.”

“All right,” Sirius agreed, “But we’re betting on who is buying sweets from the trolley lady.”

“Deal,” James chuckled, the world around them and all its problems vanishing for a little while in that little compartment with his best mates.


End file.
